future vegetarian society

It occurred to me that we have yet to blog about the excitement we had last weekend. In the middle of our (crazy!) cold snap, we had the experience of a power failure. Right as we were cleaning up the supper dishes, the power snapped off. A quick call to the "power line" indicated that we could be in for a long wait to discover the problem. Not a fun prospect when the wind chill outside was in the -48C region.

In any case, we decided to make the most of it. Out came the candles, an extra layer for everyone to wear, and some board games. After an hour or so, the children were getting a bit bored of their game, so I offered to read to them. Choosing an old favorite from my childhood, we settled in to read.

Growing up, I read the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder faithfully every year. I'd work my way through the series, and still own 8 of the 9 books from the box set (somehow, The First Four Years - both the shortest and saddest of the series - has gone missing). Since Laura and her family didn't have electricity, I figured it would be a good time to read and consider the modern conveniences we enjoy.

They really enjoyed the story...until it was butchering time for the family's pig. As I read the story of Pa and Uncle Henry butchering the pig, and cutting up the meat, the children looked ever so much more green. Finally Isaac stopped me with a "why would they DO that?"
My reply: "that's how they got meat. Bacon, ham, ribs, pork chops".
Isaac: "ew, they should just go to the store and buy some"
Mom: "they couldn't. the stores didn't sell meat like the do at Extra Foods."
Norah: "poor little pig. I'm so sad"
Isaac: "I'm never eating pig again"
Mom: "really? you like ham, and bacon, and pork chops"
Isaac: "not anymore, I don't"
Mom: "I can understand not wanting to eat head cheese, but you like pork"
Isaac: "I did. I'm done"

So we continued on with the story, and after another hour or so, the power came back on. We then headed out to a Christmas party at a friend's house, and got home very late.

Next morning was the Sunday School pageant, followed by a lunch. During the lunch, I found Isaac eating some pork sausage. Informed him that the sausage was made of meat, specifically pig meat.
Isaac: "I know. It's tasty"

Perhaps a future vegetarian, perhaps a dedicated carnivore. Only time will tell.

oh, the weather outside is frightful

but the science is delightful!

With the weather being so cold, we stayed inside all day. To help keep the boredom away, Isaac and mom did some science experiments. This one involved baking soda, vinegar and balloons.


Isaac's photo of our work


We followed that up with hot chocolate and creme caramel candy canes.

Isaac's school concert

The class contribution to the school concert. Our boy is on the far right in the black, with the snowman on his sweater.

Music recital

Tonight was the recital of Mrs. Z's piano and Music for Young Children students. As the girls are in the Sunrise class, we went to participate. The PLAN was to take some photos and video the singing. Unfortunately, the camera did not cooperate. This is doubly an issue, as Dad wasn't able to be present as he's overnighting in the city, in preparation of voting in a new bishop tomorrow. I *guess* that's important enough to miss the girls singing songs and clapping rhythm.

In their new dresses, with matching hairbands. They were SO excited to put these on.



There is their little class on stage. The lone boy in the class refused to stand on stage, and is at Mrs. Z's side. Midway through the performance, Norah and A (on her right) were chatting about how much they liked each other's outfits. Those two love to talk fashion.

Isaac's gymnastic class group routine

Isaac's class is slightly older - K to 3 students. It was hard to video this performance, because Norah was dancing around in circles to the music while I was doing it. Isaac has yet to master a cartwheel, but it will come. He's the boy in gray and black. Somehow, I missed the final "pose" with the kids.



Here is his bar routine
Once again, the voice of encouragement in the background is M, yelling "go Isaac go!" at one point.

Norah's Gymnastic parent night

A short video of Norah's gymnastic class final. She was the only girl in a class of 3 and 4 year olds, and did really well. The little person sounds in the background are mostly my friend J's little girl M. M was very encouraging to her brothers and our kids tonight.

the new look

in an earlier post, there were hints of a new look to come. Here it is:




I guess, specifically, it's two new looks...or would it be three? 2 pairs of glasses (somehow it was cheaper to buy 2 instead of one - scratch head - and he is 6 after all) , and a new way for him to see. Apparently, he's near-sighted. Which means he doesn't see distance well. To be honest, at first I thought he was kidding with the doctor when he said he couldn't see the letters on the wall. Nope, he really couldn't see them. It would seem as though his prescription isn't that far off from his father's. He's spent the afternoon amazed at the details he's been missing.

Wish list

You may have noticed the Christmas wish list on the left side of the blog. We did up a few of the kids wants and needs for the upcoming Christmas season if anyone is interested. If you scroll down to the bottom of the list, there is a link button to the entire list in full size, instead of just a sidebar.

new look

Keep your eyes peeled - there is a new look ahead in more ways than one...

just in time

Our last post was about buying Isaac winter boots. Just in time too, because less than three days from that purchase....






It was a very snowy Remembrance Day. We've since had a few more inches, and it looks like winter has arrived.

Now to buy Norah some new snowpants. Seriously, that girl is growing out of pants faster than we can keep up, it seems. We thought we were fine, but the current snowpants don't quite overlap the boots. Not bad to have an inch of exposed leg on a snowy day when the temp is -1...any colder, not so much.

run to town

We may complain about the lack of shopping and access to real stores here. However, it is easy to just run down to the stores on Saturday to pick up a pair of winter boots for the biggest kid, when the stores are only 3 blocks away. It seemed more likely that we would need the boots before our next trip to some real shopping.

Saturday started out chilly, and then got windy. It was a great day to have a quick outing to buy boots, then come home for a warm lunch and hot chocolate. We even got a great pair of boots, they coordinate with his winter gear and were on sale! (sale is kind of relative for our limited shopping options)

Sad

There is sadness, as dear cousin Katie and her parents mourn the loss of Katie's beloved Mamanmic, one of her grandmothers.

Dear Valerie, Jinx and Katie, we are so sorry for this loss and we are praying for your family's peace at this sad time. We will all miss Mamanmic.

ways to celebrate a birthday

There are good and bad ways to celebrate a birthday.

Good:
family
favorite meals, including mashed potatoes
good cupcakes, that you got to help decorate
fun day
orange pop!
presents

Bad:
waking up sick
"choking" (Ruby's word for vomiting)
choking a lot, and not sleeping as a result
spending the morning after your birthday flaked out on the couch, not wanting to move



These birthday posts would have been up earlier...but the children lovingly shared their tummy bug and we are just getting back to normal as of Friday. It's been a long week. Thank goodness Daddy stayed healthy.

Happy 3!

The request was for pumpkin cupcakes. Good thing we had some home grown pumpkin to puree up!



Painting and wearing new chef hats, courtesy of Nana and Poppie


As Isaac was kind, and let his sisters pick first, he wore the second pink hat.


Hello 3 year old! She's dressed to go adventuring...


...and you can't go adventuring without a fun attitude and some good accessories!

Boo!

It's that Halloween time of year again! The time of year when kids can wear their dress up faves outside!!

With their dear buddy A at playgroup on Tuesday. A's mom was in a costume too, and I dared her to wear it grocery shopping, and play dumb when anyone asked her about it - she didn't go for it. I think it would have been hilarious. Ruby informed a couple of moms at playgroup that she was a girl bug, because she wasn't grown up enough to be a lady bug.


Isaac was still sick today. He spent the morning sleeping in bed, and the early part of the afternoon lounging around with some gatorade. We offered him the chance to go to his class party this afternoon, but he said he'd rather stay home and rest....so he really was sick. After an afternoon lounging and watching Monsters Inc., and finally eating some solid food (tortilla shell and grated cheese), he was in much better shape to consider trick or treating. Which was good, I didn't want to have glued on 12 eyeballs to his monster costume and it not get worn. It probably helped that some of his school buddies dropped by to trick or treat our house too.

Tonight was probably the balmiest Halloween we've had since we lived here - it was only -2C (28F) with the wind chill.
Our many-eyed monster, princess and ladybug ready to take on the dark streets in search of candy.

some firsts (potentially icky for the squeamish)

Parenting small children comes with many firsts. First step, first solid foods...and so on. It also comes with some fun (for parents!) firsts - first trip out in underpants instead of pull-ups. First overnight without diapers. These are good firsts. Exciting firsts. Firsts we are glad to see.

Other firsts, well, not so much. Let's take, oh, um...first time throwing up in public. That's not a good first. I'm sure most people reading this can remember that time someone in their class in elementary school threw up. Right? I know I can.

We also had "one of those" firsts today. Isaac did seem a bit under the weather this morning, but we didn't think much of it. There was a parents lunch thing at school, for education week, to share lunch and some favorite books. Rob went along, as "the girls" were at a playdate. By the time lunch was finished, it was obvious that the little man wasn't feeling 100%. Dad, with his quick reflexes, managed to act quickly and catch the, um, event, and salvage some of our little guy's dignity. Thank goodness for lunch bags, quick hands, and paper towels.

Which means we experienced a whole bunch of firsts today. Mixed blessing, those firsts.

girls' brithday party!

Last Saturday was the "Fairy Princess" birthday party for the girls. 5 little fairy princesses joined us, as well as one big brother, one little brother and one newborn baby sister. We drank pink punch, ate yummy food, had delicious cake, did some princess related crafts and opened gifts. Oh, and pumpkin spice lattes for the grownups. It was a lovely party.

Little princesses making tiara crafts


A few more princesses hard at work with glue and sequins


The pink ladybug cake for Ruby




Norah finally changed her mind from a soccer cake to a butterfly




Blowing out the candles



The fairy princess shoes we made as a craft.



The party guests in the "fairy princess corner". It's amazing what you can do with mosquito netting, ribbons and christmas lights. one of the princesses is missing in this shot, she was playing cars in Isaac's room, but her baby sister is in the shot.

fall day play

A few Saturdays ago, the older two spent an hour shoveling leaves into a big pile. Yes, shoveling. Then they applied their skills from gymnastics class to the leaves. Apparently, somersaulting into leaves is lots of fun.


They used their chairs as starting points.


Leaves in the hair.

Happy Birthday 4 year old!

Helping making her birthday pizza. She loves the turkey pepperoni because it's not too spicy. Otherwise, she wanted pepperoni pizza so she could "pick off the pepperoni". 4 years go so fast, it's hard to believe she's already helping cut things in the kitchen.


Blowing out the candles on her strawberry cupcakes.


"Don't steal my cupcake"


Smile!

delicious!

Now that Fall is officially here, the smells of Fall are all around the house.


Crockpot beef in wine with potatoes and sweet potatoes


Peach and (garden!) strawberry crisp



Then from this:



To this:
Green tomato relish, canned and ready for winter. Tomatoes and green pepper from the garden out back. Yum!

sadness

"From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from mplague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
Good Lord, deliver us"

BCP, General Litany

Sudden death is a horrible thing. It sneaks up when one is least expecting it and changes our worlds in an instant.

We are currently dealing with the aftermath of a sudden death here in town. A 22 year old young man, son and grandson from our parish, died in a tragic car accident this week. Thankfully, his girlfriend escaped with minor injuries, but Gregg was pronounced dead at the scene. Word travels fast in a small town, and hurt is big. Rob was out of town when this happened, and I had to track him down on his clergy retreat, and he hurried home to be with the family.

This is a new type of mourning. All the funerals Rob has done so far have been for the very elderly or the sick (or both). This out-of-the-blue sudden death is so very different. The pain is just different, the sorrow is a different kind. As Gregg's grandmother said to me on the phone this week "this is just like a horrible dream I just can't wake up from".

If you, dear family and friends who read this, are the praying type, please pray for this family. For the parents, grandmother, younger brothers, extended family and friends. There is much hurt here. Dear Lord, deliver us all from sudden death.

Happy Fall!

Sure, it's not technically Fall yet. The leaves here are changing and starting to fall. The mornings are crisp, even if we haven't had a real frost yet. It's pretty much Fall, we can't avoid it.

victory over the sink!

With all the kitchen work being done, it seemed to be time to take on the leaky bathroom sink faucet.

Well, you know all about "best laid plans" and "simple jobs"....three days later, still cursing at the stinkin' sink bits that were not cooperating, I suggested calling a plumber. Never one to be easily defeated, Rob dove back in for another go around with the "stinkin' sink bits"...and won! Finally, all the pieces that were supposed to be easy to change were loosened, and Rob was able to install our new faucet. With the state of the old faucet, it was going to take much more than just a set of washers to get it looking nice and working well again. So proud, and no plumber called!

Voila!

pssttt....

wanna a sneak peak of the partially reno'ed kitchen?

This is what we came home to:

the new pantry - it's huge!


Check out the new layout. Until the electrician gets here, the dishwasher and hood fan are simply decorative. That's ok. We can wait.



Technically, the sink wasn't installed until after we had been home a few days.


It's almost done! Tonight, we came home to a tiled backsplash. :)

Biggest truck in the world!

After Seattle, we drove to the Yakima area of Washington state to visit with friends and their two daughters. Lots of fun and late nights talking. Then it was time to (yet again) pack up the van and head home. We drove the most boring stretch of road ever, then hit Spokane which looked like it had plenty of charm from the interstate. Stopped in Idaho and enjoyed our first visit to Sonic, where they make amazing slushies and flavored Coke. Then headed north and had a wistful moment when we drove past an amusement park, and we all wished we were on the roller coaster instead of still in the van. Made us wonder if driving past fun looking places as kids, and hearing the "no, we can't stop" was just as hard on the parents as it was on us kids. Northern Idaho and into Canada again - what a beautiful area that is! Somehow, the children were less impressed with the views.

After overnighting in Cranbrook, we stopped in Sparwood to see the "World's Largest Truck". Who can resist that photo op? Not us! It WAS big!



Then on to Red Deer (or Reindeer, as the kids called it) for a stop - including the most fun hotel slide EVER. Home the next day, and an exciting discovery of seeing one of the local highways *finally* completed roadwork.

the joy of new running shoes

Around age 12, I (Kristin) was really excited to have saved up enough babysitting money to buy myself my first pair of Converse Chuck Taylor One Star running shoes. They were black, low top and so very lovely. I remember clearly the April day, going out to the mall, and finally bringing home the prized shoes. Walking around the front yard, making those shoe prints in the late spring snow still on the lawn, trying really hard not to get mud on them. I was so cool in my own mind.

While we were on the way to Seattle, it was apparent that we were needing a quick pit stop. Imagine our (ok, my) joy when the next exit held the promise of good shopping at a massive outlet mall - and plentiful bathrooms. We did a bit of shopping, had some lunch, ran into some people we knew (really! some from Vancouver, some from Iowa!)...then we found the Converse outlet store. I was sure that Isaac needed a pair of runners, so in we went.


They had green ones, and Isaac was all over that. He was so excited. We also got him a pair of black velcro-closing ones for his school shoes.


Then Norah spotted the pink ones. Having once had a pink pair myself, it was so hard to say no...so we didn't. She was really after the pink glitter ones, but they didn't have her size. She settled on pink low tops.


At this point, Ruby was getting antsy. She wanted some shoes too. Well, if it wasn't our day! There were 3 pairs of white low tops with red ladybugs left, and one of them was in her size! How could we say no?


I also found a pair for myself, black and turquoise. Ahh, bliss.

Now Isaac just needs to learn to tie his shoes.

other things we did

- got to enjoy the 40th wedding anniversary party
-went for sushi with the kids, and Norah was all over it
- visited with friends and their kids, with friends without kids, with friends with grown up kids
- spraypark!
- Granville Island, where Isaac chased the birds and mom found too many fun toys (but showed restraint)
- went to the church Dad grew up in, and got to hear him preach there
- meals with family, both close and more extended
- did a little shopping - no really, just a little
- had a fun beach meet up with some of mom's friends and all their kids
there was more, it's just so hard to recall it all now!

Hands down though, if you ask the kids what they liked best it would be playing with their cousins. Without question. These three cousins are missing their other three cousins a lot now that we are home.

Playland!

One of the first outings we had in Vancouver was to Playland with Grandpa Tom. We wanted to enjoy the rides before the PNE started and the lines were crazy. What a fun day! Hot, but fun. The kids LOVED the rides, and were all pretty much little daredevils. Norah had a minor meltdown over being denied (by mom) the chance to ride the big swings, but got over it. All three kids rode the little roller coaster - twice. The major highlight was the older 2 riding the log ride with dad and Grandpa. They were soaked, which was a very welcome side effect on such a hot day.

Driving



While we were there, we ran into mom's cousin K's daughter R (who is 2 weeks older than Ruby) and her hubby P. Even a big city like Vancouver is still a small place sometimes.

That's cousin K's little one in the green.